Improvement in seed-drills



UNITED STATES PATENT OEEIcE.

SAMUEL KEELER AND JACOB vBARTHEL, OF LANCASTER,PENNSYLVANIA..

IMPROVEMENT IN SEED-DRILLS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent YNo. 36,567, dated September 30, 1562.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, SAMUEL KEELER and JACOB BARTHEL, of Lancaster, in the county of Lancaster and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Operating the Shut-Oli' Slides on Seed Drills or Machines; and we do hereby declare that the following isa full, clear, and exact description of the construction and operation of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making a part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 is a perspective view of a portion ofa seed-drill with our improvement E A in place. P is the bottom of the hopper; X, the side pieces, and L M cross-pieces, of the framework. O is the swinging or raising bar, with its lever Q in the ordinary manner. E is a grooved scroll, being an arc of a circle fixed diagonally on a two-footed base, and set saddlewise across the edge ofthe raising-beam O, being on top when the shovels are in contact with the soil.

Fig. 2 shows the vibrating lever A on its pivot B, for operating the shut-o" slide beneath the hopper, carried back and forward by its contact with the grooved scroll E. Fig. 4 illustrates this change of position. Fig. 3 is a side view of the lever and its connections.

Our improvement consists in the manner of moving the shut-olf slide by means cfa vibrating lever.

A pin, F, Fig. 2, is fixed to a plate or otherwise to the under side of the slide at any point between a pair of the clips I J, between which the slide is held or guided in its motions. This pin F enters the open slot or fork O of the lever A, while its other end, D, is adapted to the groove in the circumference of the arc or scroll E, in which it is held, and carried with it, the lever being supported on its pivot B, affixed to a plate, R, beneath it, (the lever A,) the operation being such'v that when the raising-beam O is turned over, so as to raise the shovels from the ground, the diagonal position of the grooved arc or scroll E changes the position of end D of the vibrating lever A, and consequently moves the slide by the pin F in the fork G otA its other end, (from the fnlcrum B,) andv simultaneously with'the raising and lowering of the shovels closes or opens the cells beneath the hopper.

We areaware thatothers,likeourselves,have used a diagonal arc operating on a forked arm rigidly connected with the slide or shut-olf; but experience has taught us that the strain is so great as to cause much veXation and loss of time in repairs on the same, and that the simple device We employ obviates all tendency to twist or strain the lever. The pin in the slot O and the point D in the groove give the lever free action upon its pivot to' vibrate to and fro, freely and effectually performing its ofce.

We therefore do not claim the diagonal position of the arc E, nor the forked lever-arm, in itself considered as a rigid fixture, with the slide on its other end.

What we claim as our improvement, and dcsire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

The combination of the cam E, attached to the swinging bar O, with the pivoted lever A, operating the shut-off slide, the whole constructed, arranged, and operated in the manner and for the purpose set forth.

SAMUEL KEELER. JACOB BARTHEL. Witnesses:

GRAS. R. FEAILEY, JACOB STAUEEER. 

